A winter storm has dumped nearly 58cm of snow on Washington DC and Baltimore, before moving on to Philadelphia and New York, paralysing road, rail and airline travel along the US east coast.

At least 10 states declared weather emergencies on Saturday (Sunday NZ Time), aiming to get a handle on highways made impassable by the drifting snow and to shore up coastal areas where the blizzard conditions raised the danger of flooding.

High winds battered the region, reaching 110km per hour in Wallops Island, Virginia, late on Friday (Saturday NZT), said meteorologist Greg Gallina of the National Weather Service.

Apparently the storm will drop temperatures so much it will freeze skin in 15 mins…even a good freezer can’t do that

Almost 100 million people across the Northeast battened-down-the-hatches as the huge winter storm dubbed Hercules slammed the Northeast with stiff winds and punishing cold temperatures on Thursday, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of the region and threatening more.

The National Weather Service said 21 inches of snow had fallen in Boxford, just north of Boston, by Thursday night, while other parts of the state had 17 or 18 inches. It added that parts of upstate New York had received 18 inches while New York City was on course to get about 8.

With bone-chilling conditions that could freeze exposed skin in 15 minutes expected in the aftermath of the snowfall, authorities warned people to stay indoors and to only travel when necessary. Read more »

Several news items suggest that despite the moaning and propaganda of the warmists it appears that global warming is nowhere to be seen, even in the summer of the Antarctic.

An Antarctic-bound ship spent Christmas awaiting rescue after the ship became wedged in thick sheets of sea ice.

The ice-breaker Akademik Shokalski set sail for the sub- Antarctic and Antarctica from Bluff on a mission of science and discovery, which sailed on November 28.

The month-long Australasian Antarctic Expedition is following in the footsteps of explorer and scientist Sir Douglas Mawson, one century on.

Central Otago woman Nicole Kerr is one of the crew members.

Omakau-raised Ms Kerr was on board the Akademik Shokalski as a chef.

The ship had been on a multi-day tour from New Zealand to visit several sites along the edge of Antarctica.The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) received a distress call on this morning, notifying the rescue co-ordination centre that the ship was trapped in ice and would need help.

It is not known how long the ship has been unable to break free from the ice floes. Read more »

The ancient city of Jerusalem, which normally basks in fierce heat, was dusted with a light covering of snow during a freak blizzard.

And snow fell on the streets of Egypt for the first time in 112 years as one of the worst winter storms to hit the Middle East in living memory set in.

The rare sight of pristine white precipitation greeted stunned residents of Cairo this morning who took to social media to express their shock at the unsettling weather in the usually sweltering capital.